The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of agapanthus, botanically known as Agapanthus praecox orientalis and further known by the varietal name xe2x80x98ATIbluxe2x80x99. The new variety was discovered in a selective breeding program by the inventor at Silvan, Victoria, Australia. The new variety is a sport selection from an Agapanthus praecox orientalis xe2x80x98Snowstormxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,554). The new cultivar was selected from the progeny of this sport selection in a controlled environment by the inventor in Silvan, Victoria, Australia.
The new variety is the result of a selective breeding program taken from clump divisions at Silvan, Victoria, Australia in December of 1999. These divisions were selected and propagated through rhizome divisions selecting for differences in flower color and growth performance.
Continued observation of the vegetative divisions resulting from asexual reproduction of clump divisions taken at Silvan, Victoria, Australia have confirmed that the distinguishing features of this new cultivar came true, remain stable and are retained through successive propagation.
The new cultivar was grown in outdoors in trial beds at Silvan, Victoria, Australia. It is typically grown under natural light conditions in pots in a bark based potting media. Typical time from tissue division to flowering is eighteen (18) months.
The cultivar xe2x80x98ATIbluxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.